BANGKOK (NNT) – The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has confirmed the discovery of a second patient with the Wuhan coronavirus; she is said to be a visitor from China. The patient is receiving treatment at Bamrasnaradura Hospital, and there is currently no outbreak of the virus in Thailand.
According to the announcement by the MOPH Permanent Secretary Sukhum Karnchanapimai, and the Department of Disease Control’s Director General Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, the second patient with the SARS-like Novel Coronavirus 2019 infection was detected during a health screening procedure conducted among passengers traveling on a direct flight from Wuhan, China on 13th January. The patient is a 74-year-old woman from China, who is now receiving treatment at Bamrasnaradura Hospital. She is reported to be responding well to treatment, and will be discharged once laboratory results show there is no longer any virus in her body.
The MOPH is has been applying standard health screening and quarantine protocols to passengers on direct flights from Wuhan, China, landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi; Don Muang; Chiang Mai; and Phuket international airports since 3rd January. 13,624 passengers and crew members on 86 flights have so far been screened, with 21 persons flagged for further investigations. Most of the persons exhibiting suspicious symptoms were later diagnosed with influenza, with 12 receiving treatment and being discharged.
Only two persons are confirmed to have the Wuhan coronavirus. The two cases are unrelated to one another. The first patient who is reported to be in much better condition now, will be discharged once laboratory results confirm she is no longer contagious.
The authorities have been monitoring 16 persons who were in close contact with the first patient, and 20 persons in close contact with the second patient. None of these people was found to have contracted the virus. The Ministry of Public Health has reassured the public that there is no outbreak of the virus in Thailand, as the patients were all infected before their arrival here.
